Publication Type: Panel PaperAbstract: While the worldwide rate of immigration has multiplied in the past five decades (OECD, 2010), this phenomenon has also gained notoriety after such events as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. One effect of such events is the amplification of anti-immigrant sentiments. Cross-nationally, immigration is a contentious issue because it questions basic assumptions about who belongs in a society. The extent to which nations provide a quality education to immigrants questions these assumptions as well. Overwhelmingly, studies have found that immigrant students perform much lower than their native counterparts in math, science and reading (Pong, 2009; Ammermueller, 2007), suggesting inequality within education systems. Further, these studies have found important factors that help to explain this gap, such as socioeconomic background, language spoken at home, gender, and place of birth of both children and their parents. Mostly, these studies have analyzed data for older students (15 year olds, 7th and 8th graders). This study utilizes the 2003 TIMSS 4th grade dataset to examine the relation between immigrant status and achievement in mathematics and science. Findings indicate a negative mean difference on science and mathematics outcomes for immigrant students, after controlling for student level background variables. These findings have the potential to illuminate international efforts to improve the quality of education provided to immigrants, one that liberates those who may have migrated to escape political, racial, economic or social strife.